Texters start, finish strong over NLEX

Games tomorrow (Smart Araneta Coliseum) 4:30 p.m. – GlobalPort vs Phoenix 7 p.m. – Ginebra vs Rain or Shine

TNT KaTropa came in on a playoff mode and clobbered NLEX in its final game in the elimination round, 101-75, to stay in the hunt in the PBA Philippine Cup at the MOA Arena in Pasay City last night.

Practically all the TNT players dished out big games, putting on a strong start and a stronger finish to blast the Road Warriors by 26 points and salvage a 5-6 win-loss closing card.

But the Texters would still need to wait the results of the last play date of the elims tomorrow to find out whether they would advance in the playoff outright, figure in a knockout game for the last quarterfinals berth or miss the post-elims play.

Despite the setback, NLEX wound up with a strong 6-5 slate and earned a spot in the best-ofthree quarters.

“The only thing we had control over with was to win this game. We did that, and, hopefully, after things clear, we would find out that we would still play another game,” said TNT coach Nash Racela.

“We’ve been struggling this conference. It’s no secret. Everybody’s talking about that. The two-week break really helped us to focus on things we needed to work on. Today, offensively, we looked a lot better than our previous games,” Racela also said.

Debuting TNT player Jericho Cruz and four teammates put in double-digit outputs as the Texters broke the century mark for the first time in their last nine outings. It’s only the second time this season that they scored more than a hundred points.

Cruz, a trade recruit from Rain or Shine, banged away three threepointers and a total of 17 markers that went with four assists, three rebounds and two steals in 30 minutes of action.

“He gave us some depth. We’ve got an extra guy who could play major minutes,” said Racela of Cruz.

Gilas players Troy Rosario, RR Pogoy and Jayson Castro contributed 14, 13 and 10 points, respectively.

Rain or Shine rained down 17 three-pointers on San Miguel Beer and pulled off a 95-80 win to formalize playoff entry later in the night.

ROS centers Beau Belga and Jewel Ponferada, in an effort to draw SMB behemoth June Mar Fajardo out of the paint, combined for eight treys and a total of 36 points to lead the E-Painters to a sixth win against four losses.

They look for an automatic berth in the best-of-three quarterfinals as they play the Barangay Ginebra Kings in the last game of the elims tomorrow at the Big Dome. The scores: First Game TNT 101 – Williams 17, Cruz 17, Rosario 14, Pogoy 13, Castro 10, Tamsi 7, Garcia 6, Paredes 5, Semerad 3, Reyes 3, Carey 2, Torres 2, Tautuaa 2, Golla 0, Nuyles 0

NLEX 75 – Quinahan 20, Alas 14, AlHussaini 10, Mallari 5, Monfort 5, Miranda 5, Soyud 4, Tiongson 3, Ighalo 3, Fonacier 3, Taulava 2, Ravena 1, Uyloan 0, Baguio 0

Quarterscores: 27-16, 58-28, 80-50, 101-75 Second Game RAIN OR SHINE 95 – Belga 19, Ponferada 17, Borboran 11, Norwood 10, Daquioag 8, Trollano 8, Nambatac 6, Ahanmisi 5, Almazan 3, King 3, Washington 3, Maiquez 2, Onwubere 0.

SAN MIGUEL 80 – Fajardo 19, Lassiter 17, Cabagnot 13, Santos 8, De Ocampo 8, Espinas 6, Ross 5, Ganuelas-Rosser 2, Heruela 0, Pessumal 0, Lanete 0.

Quarterscores: 26-22, 38-38, 60-62, 95-80